The Inebriate Asylum
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THE INEBRIATE1 ASYLUM.
Among the manifold instances and proofs of the necessity for the establishment and maintenance of the State Inebriate Asylum at Binghamton, given in a letter to the Governor, by J. Edward Turner, Esq.,2 Corresponding Secretary, we find the following: The last case I shall mention is that of a gentleman with whom you were well acquainted, and whose reputation was as wide as the commerce of the nation, and whose commercial statistics will be consulted as long as commerce shall flourish. He possessed a mind far above mediocrity—an industry untiring as the day, and an energy which overcame all difficulties in business—yet, he could not control himself. This malady with him was a disease, and was as much beyond his control as insanity. No pride of character could restrain him—no public reputation could control him—no promise, no vow, however sacred, could keep him from gratifying his diseased appetite. Many a time has he shed bitter tears over this, his calamity—has wept, and drank; and drank and wept—and died. The following letter, received from Hon. Ex-Mayor Lambert 3 of Brooklyn, refers to this case. March 4, 1857. Dr. J. Edward Turner, Albany. Dear Sir:—You know Mr. —, Editor of —.I saw him on Saturday, and he is very desirous that the Asylum should be commenced, as his only hope for a cure of his disease is in such a retreat. My heart bleeds for him—he feels terribly his situation; and to save such a man as—,is worth more than the riches of Croesus, I trust you will succeed in interesting our Legislature in the Asylum, for be assured, what money is expended for this object will be more than saved, by the diminution of taxes and crime. Yours truly. EDWARD A. LAMBERT. Every Brooklynite must recognise this lamentable instance. The name of the individual referred to, which his contributions to mercantile literature have rendered famous, has again and again been disgraced by being placed on the list of arrested "bummers" sent to the City Hall. Were such cases rare—had the gifted Freeman Hunt been almost the only man to whom the existence of an Inebriate Asylum proffered a possibility of cure, it would yet have been worth while, and indeed it would have been the duty of philanthropists, to establish such an Institution.
But such cases are not solitary, nor unusual. There are few who have not in their circle of acquaintance some gifted man, whose inherited predisposition to the abuse of intoxicating liquors, renders him an object of pity rather than of censure, as he struggles powerlessly and in vain against the fatal habit which has wrapped him in the folds of its Nessian mantle, and which poisons alike his reputation, his health, his peace of mind, his worldly prospects and the happiness and comfort of his family and relatives.
As the State has failed to make the expected appropriation, through the Legislature, to the Asylum, it becomes the duty of the wealthy and benevolent everywhere throughout the State to donate liberally to the institution. Ex-Mayor Lambert of this city is one of the Trustees, and by him, or Mr. Turner, the Secretary, at 97 Clinton Place, New York, subscriptions will be received.